Baptist Missionary Sentenced to Life in Hard Labor by North Korea

North Korea said on Saturday that it had sentenced a South Korean Baptist missionary to a labor camp for life for allegedly trying to build underground churches in the country, where the government considers such religious activities an attempt to sabotage its rule.

The missionary, Kim Jong-uk, was also convicted of spying and other various “anti-state” crimes during a trial in Pyongyang on Friday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday. A large crowd attended Mr. Kim’s trial, the report said.

The severe punishment of Mr. Kim, who has been held in the North since October, came a day after the country struck a conciliatory agreement with Japan. On Thursday, North Korea agreed to reopen an investigation into the fate of Japanese citizens it abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.

In return, Japan promised to lift some sanctions and consider humanitarian aid shipments once such the inquiry gets underway. Keep reading

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